The present invention concerns automatic feeding devices for silk screen printing machines of the type comprising a horizontally displacing platen.
On these machines, the positioning of the material to be printed is carried out generally manually with the printing platen in the extended position awaiting the feed.
The operator must await the return of the printing platen into its extended position to place the material to be printed into its position of registration. If the material consists of a very thin sheet of paper or is of a large format, the operation is difficult, relatively lengthy and consequently reduces the maximum possible printing rate of the machine.
In order to remedy these disadvantages, the present applicant has conceived of a device for precise automatic feeding or positioning making it possible to increase the printing rate of the aforementioned machines. A related device was described in French Application No. 84 15352 (EP No. 179,010).
Briefly described, the device comprises the following:
a positioning platen located in the plane and laterally from the printing platen, integral with the latter, and comprising a mat or endless belt to bring the material to be printed into frontal abutment against margin stops and a device to bring said material into abutment against a lateral margin stop;
a feeder device for the material to be imprinted equipped at its upper part with guide rails in an extension of those of the printing platen;
a lifting device to seize the material to be printed in the feeder device and to deposit it in the positioning platen when located on the guide rails of the feeder device, and
a lifting device located above the printing platen in the extended position and capable of transferring the material to be printed from the positioning platen onto the printing platen.